User reviews

Alex (Jason Ritter) attempts to kill himself in his family home. His college friends gather to visit him. Ben (Nate Parker) and Siri (Maggie Grace) are married and facing difficult issues. Josh (Max Greenfield) is the malcontent who wants to confront Alex about his suicide attempt. Sarah (Aubrey Plaza) is tired of her job. Isaac (Max Minghella) brings his young girlfriend Kate (Jane Levy) who used to work for him.

This is basically a reworking of The Big Chill with some interesting actors from the new generation. I really don't want take away points for copying by new filmmaker Jesse Zwick. The biggest change is the lack of popular music. Nobody is dancing with their breakfast in this one. The best aspect is someone like Plaza stretching out a little. She shows that she can be a very compelling dramatic actress. This has some of my favorite actors around in a familiar movie setting.

It hits all the right issues about modern isolation and the nature of friendship, but it hits on them only tangentially and without any depth. And it doesn't really use its theme to its advantage very well. If there's one very positive thing I can say about this movie it's that once a scene gets going it starts to really get going. And then the scene ends way too soon and we're left with a sense of incompleteness. It's as if the director didn't want the players to do too much "acting" to get in the way.

The set-up is weakly explained, the relationship dynamics are barely believable, and the resolution is too neatly tied up. But if you like some of the actors, it will be a pleasant if not terribly worthwhile experience. Overall, it was a missed opportunity to explore how technological progress has affected how we make and sustain friendships in a post-Big Chill world.

This movie isn't terrible but it rips off The Big Chill right down to the running scene, the younger girlfriend, and Max Greenfield character is basically William Hurts character in the original. Also at times you would expect a group like this to be more fluid and bounce off each other more but it's just awkward and uneasy. All in all it made me wanna rewatch The Big Chill and for that I gave it 6 stars.

The cast is probably the best thing about this film. Aubrey plaza and max greenfield need to grace the screen together more often. And every time I see the blonde actor I think of how dirty she was done on the show Lost lol. Anyways 6/10.

Five college friends and a plus one physically come together to watch a friend after he tries to commit suicide but in all other regards they spend the majority of the weekend egocentrically delving into their own unresolved self-generated baggage.

It is hard for a film, when it's basically a remake pretending not to be because this time the suicide victim isn't a victim but an attemptee but is hypocritically self-aware and gives homage to its predecessor, to do what it wants authentically without resembling a rip-off. And, fair warning, I have seen The Big Chill, and unintentionally watched it again a week before watching About Alex.

From the get-go you know to expect self-indulgent intellectualisms but About Alex is nothing but pretentious ramblings, giving it a loathsome hipsterly quality. The atmosphere of the entire movie is bordering on combative as they angrily banter through the tension. Maybe this was a deliberate decision from writer/director Jesse Zwick; to put a mirror to the disjointed self absorbed nature of the generation and act as a representation and critique of the Facebook age. One would think that people coming together to help another through the days immediately following a suicide attempt would be kind and loving but for the most of the movie you forget they were even friends. The acting is good and roles fully formed, of which Jane Levy and Max Greenfield are most successful, but they can not save their faulted characters.

The directing and composition of shots was uninspired, average, and literal. There is an art to telling a story without having it plainly done with the characters' dialogue and that is completely missing from About Alex. This is evident from the very beginning when Zwick decides to waste five minutes showing: the suicide attempt, everyone getting the call about the suicide attempt and making their arrangements to go and deal with the suicide attempt. Instead he could have saved five minutes, had everyone somberly encounter one another, leaving the dialogue as-is where the true subject for being together is implied and pussyfooted around and then cut to the one friend left at the cabin as he tries to clean the bloodstained bathtub. All conversations between two characters are over the shoulder framed close-ups that cut back and forth as they talk to one another.

I wanted to like this movie, the trailer had me so hopeful and the cast is sublime but About Alex is masturbatory and decidedly not The Big Chill of our generation.

Check out our website for more movie and television reviews!

Large ensembles have the opportunity to say different things from different characters. Before screening at Tribeca, many were calling this "our generation's" Big Chill from 1984, which was directed by Lawrence Kasdan and nominated for three Academy Awards including Best Picture. While there are obvious similarities in the number of people who are present, and themes surrounding love and death, newcomer Jesse Zwick, son of producer/director Edward Zwick, pours his heart and soul into each frame and reinvents a masterful motion picture. About Alex is a raw and beautiful morality piece about where the late twenty- somethings are presently. I loved nearly every second.

About Alex tells the story of seven friends who reunite over a three-day weekend after one of them attempts suicide. As the friends take shifts to watch their unpredictable old friend Alex, past and new feelings come to the surface.

An all-star is assembled that includes Aubrey Plaza (NBC's "Park and Recreation"), Maggie Grace (Taken), Max Minghella (The Social Network), Nate Parker (Arbitrage), Jason Ritter (Freddy vs. Jason), Max Greenfield (FOX's "New Girl"), and Jane Levy (ABC's "Suburgatory"). Each one of the actor's know their parts, actions, motivations, and completely immerse themselves in the characters. In particular, the standouts include Greenfield, who continues to steal every frame, from every show or film he's in, and Plaza, who takes on a new departure for herself and succeeds.

Jesse Zwick, for his first writing and directorial feature, shows much promise of what could be an elaborate career. He handles his scenes with firm hands and a watchful eye of what he chooses to show and not show the viewer. He allows the surroundings, both inside and outside, become two new characters for the audience to embrace. Everything put together in About Alex is simply impressive.

There are some technical hiccups that the film suffers from. Choices made by the film's editor doesn't smoothly transition from one scene to the other. As independent films go, the film stands tall on its own merits but I would have liked a more polished final product.

All in all, About Alex is an absolute dream. Full of laughs and tears, the film raises the bar for this type of genre. It's a thoughtful piece that will have admirers for years to come. It's the best cast ensemble seen this year and of the Tribeca Film Festival.

I just saw this movie and I am really hoping that many people will go see it. While I found myself comparing it to the Big Chill in several spots, the characters do a good job at making it their own. The casting is incredible. I was fully immersed in the story, hoping for certain outcomes in the character's lives, feeling deeply for some, finding comedic relief in others. Being that the attempted suicide by one member of this group of friends is at the heart of this "reunion", I have to applaud Jesse Zwick for not only taking it on, but for also not shying away from showing the many layers of human emotion that surround it ... the misunderstandings, outrage, fear and blame, guilt, and above all love and forgiveness, and hopefully different choices that can be made as an outcome. Good job to the new director/screen writer. You had me at hello.

Yes it is basically a remake of The Big Chill, but different in the sense that these people are younger than those characters. Not only that, the actors look even younger than they are supposed to be. Well, another depiction of Godless millennials who don't believe in anything, and fall apart due to the petty, neurotic emptiness of their lives. But movie people write about what they know, so don't be surprised. Having said that, the physical setting is beautiful, the acting is genuine and snappy, and the suicide theme is not milked too hard. Also, it does not have an obnoxious Greatest Hits of an era soundtrack like that other movie had. Thankfully. They could have created more original, complex, and nuanced characters than these cliched ones. But I guess they wanted to keep it light. No one manufactures anything or fixes anything. They all work in service and money related professions. No one served in the military or speaks of volunteer work or religion, although one gal works at a suicide prevention center. Although they were too self-absorbed to notice the warning signs that their friend was in trouble, they were caring enough to show up to support him later. The worst mistake of the script was not giving us a bit more back story on why our attempted suicide guy was so unhappy.

As other reviewers have mentioned, the obvious, this is such an homage to The Big Chill that it's basically a remake. And it is SO well done! The casting is perfect, the dialogue is every bit as snappy and sharp as the original. The updates for millennials are pitch perfect. Characters complaining about our current obsession with documenting every moment instead of LIVING every moment. Our habit of referencing movies and tv shows to explain experiences and feelings...instead of actually experiencing them and describing them with...words. The writer, a Jesse Zwick, has nailed the failures, idiosyncrasies and benefits of our digital age without ever coming across as preachy or self indulgent. He observes his characters (He observes all of US) without judgement. His touch is just light enough to avoid cheesy sentimentality. Imagine handling an attempted suicide with such skill and wit. He takes us along as he imagines what might have happened if Alex, played by Kevin Costner's wrists in the original, had lived. He fleshes out the awkwardness, guilt, anger, relief that Alex's friends might have felt in the days immediately following the suicide attempt . This script could have gone so wrong. It went so right. This was Jesse Zwick's first produced script and his directorial debut. Attention must be paid. I can't wait to see what else this guy has up his sleeve.

I have no complaints! I am thrilled that the director chose to not make a wall to wall "greatest hits of THAT moment" soundtrack. It would have been so easy to do and would have hit us all squarely in the feels, but choosing to keep the sound spare was a braver move. He let the writing stand on its own, and it works!

The Big Chill came out when I was in high school. I am NOT a millennial, yet I did relate to many of the issues raised in the film. My friends and I went to see the film several times in the theater and then bought the damned soundtrack. I remember us cruising around our small town blasting that soundtrack from the crappy stereo system in our equally crappy cars. Freedom! One might expect that someone with such deep seated, sweet memories of the original might hate this remake/homage. They would be wrong. I loved it.

That small town was in New Jersey. My memories and love of the state are just as strong as Bruce Springsteen's, though I moved away years ago. But as Josh says in one of his many quotable lines, "Never trust anyone who is that passionate about the state of New Jersey." He's not wrong; I'm an unrepentant Jersey Girl and I expect my affection for this movie will be as lasting (and irrational) as my love for my home state.

Give this movie a chance. If you loved the Big Chill, you will love this too.

About Alex is mainly just two hours too many to spend with characters who aren't compelling and generally act like selfish jerks. Our title character is pushed to the background and probably has the least lines of anyone. It's almost hilarious how swept aside and incidental the character Alex is in a movie called "About Alex." One gets the impression that we're meant to feel bad for him, but he's still more of a plot device than a person with a complex, nuanced personality. Most of the film dwells on the ridiculous neuroses of the other characters, which lack authenticity or originality of any kind. Drama that would be better suited to a TV sitcom than a feature length movie. Yes, the fumbling discomfort of the characters as they try to deal with Alex's attempt is something we can all sympathize with, but this is the beginning and the end of my emotional participation in this story. I have a major weakness for quirky suicide movies, but it's so important for the audience to feel something for this to work at all as the basis for a movie. Suicide is a serious subject, which About Alex seems to grasp. Although the act itself is sensationalized, it is treated with some reverence. Looking at suicide through a bizarre filter can make it easier to break down, accept, understand, but I think a strong connection between the audience and the victim is key for this to work. Overall, About Alex is pseudo-philosophical, tepid and boring. It doesn't hit the right notes emotionally and it's simply not warm enough, intimate enough, close enough. A film with a similar premise, which although not perfect itself, comes nearer to accomplishing what About Alex seems to be striving for, is A Beautiful Now. My advice is to avoid About Alex like the plague, and check that out instead; at least A Beautiful Now is interesting.

This movie is beautiful. It's raw, and it's so real. I tend to find myself watching it a few times a year and still crying. It's a beautiful film that I will forever cherish.

What an exercise in torture. A group of college students meet in a country house to have what one supposes the writer thought were meaningful and insightful interactions after an attempted suicide. Instead what transpires is endlessly juvenile self pitying blather by pampered entitled overgrown brats who can't decide if they're gender fluid or not. It's as if the entire group are the offspring of progressive therapists who taught them to glorify every neuroses, micro aggression, and narcissism as it were a grandiose philosophical manifestation. The reality is it's just juvenile pretentions and the romantic predicaments have all the ardor of a Bugs Bunny cartoon.

This movie has a great cast. It is a surprisingly lovely take on the issue of suicide. My daughter and I have watched it about a dozen times.

About Alex (2014) is about an estranged group of college friends that get together years after school when one of them attempts suicide and fails. It has a great ensemble cast of people that I've seen but weren't sure if they were great. Gladly every actor and actress was fantastic Aubrey Plaza (whom I love) is great, Maggie Grace, Jason Ritter, Nate Parker, and (my favorite) Max Greenfield among others. I love the characters and the banter along with the history of them that slowly unfolds through the drama and romance. About Alex is an amazing dramedy. Check it out on Netflix 9.5/10.